


Purr

by Burgie



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 09:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14541678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Blake and Yang take some time out from the world, just for a little while.





	Purr

_There's a garden where I go  
If you meet me there no one will know  
In the springtime in the sun  
We can be alone without anyone_

Most people would take the stairs up to this rooftop. Most people, normal people, were perfectly content to just take the usual route and arrive up here slightly out of breath but safe. But not Yang Xiao Long. No, she’d scaled the building as though it were a climbing wall. Which, thanks to the multiple window boxes and balconies (not to mention the fire escape), it almost was.

“Made it!” said Yang, punching the air once she’d finally clambered over the low stone wall and onto the roof proper. Blake leapt down gently from the wall, landing on her feet as ever. Yang, thankfully, didn’t mention the delicate movement, though she did smile at her with more warmth than amusement in her gaze. There had been nothing but warmth for Blake since she’d come back, which was hardly deserved, but Blake had long since stopped voicing her protests. They only made Yang worry and be more determined than ever to cheer her up.

“Well, it’s definitely a rooftop,” said Blake, looking around at the paved area. Her shoes made little sound as she walked across the roof, she still wore the soft shoes that most faunus did at her home. She hadn’t exactly had time to get changed before she’d left for Haven. That and she’d been sitting inside when Yang had suddenly grabbed her hand and told her to come here. At least she hadn’t been wearing slippers, just comfy house shoes.

Yang took Blake’s hand again now as she led her across the roof.

“The garden’s this way,” said Yang, almost breaking into a power walk. But Blake managed to keep up, being used to energetic friends now.

The garden soon came into sight, though it wasn’t as breathtaking as Blake had half expected. Rather than being a gorgeous floral space filled with ferns and potted trees, the garden was instead just a little fountain surrounded by hedges and flower boxes. It wasn’t very impressive, but it was… nice.

“I don’t know why I was expecting something special,” said Blake with a laugh as she finally sank down in one of the benches that surrounded the fountain.

“Hey, this is special,” said Yang, taking mock offense. She sat down beside Blake, their legs touching. Blake didn’t move away as she once would have. Personal space just wasn’t respected these days, but sometimes, that was okay. Especially when her companion was so warm.

“Alright, alright, I guess I’m just used to the gardens of Menagerie,” said Blake, leaning her head on Yang’s shoulder. She felt Yang stiffen, heard her heart begin beating just that little bit faster. A climb up a building hadn’t been able to get Yang’s heartrate up, but sitting here beside the girl that she loved? Suddenly, her heart was hammering. Blake smiled, glad to have this effect on her.

“So, I know I’m human and all, but do you think that maybe someday I could go there?” asked Yang. Blake could tell by Yang’s heartbeat that this wasn’t just an ordinary question.

“Well, I have to take you home to meet my parents someday,” said Blake. Yang’s heart raced, and Blake smirked. Hook, line, and sinker. She was glad, now, that Sun had taught her (through experience) how to fluster a girl. “They’re technically still here at the moment, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do,” said Yang, trying to laugh to brush off her nerves.

“You’ll like it there,” said Blake softly after a while, her voice barely audible above the noise of the fountain. “Especially now that it’s safer, since… he’s gone.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” said Yang. Blake knew that Yang wasn’t saying that for her sake, so she smiled.

“I’ve told you what I did while I was gone,” said Blake. Only because Yang had pulled it out of her, knowing that Blake would only see it as herself being selfish. It had helped, to talk about what she’d been doing and hear someone telling her that she hadn’t been selfish, that she’d actually helped to turn the tide of the battle, that she had to stop beating herself up over this. 

“Yeah, alright, my turn to talk,” said Yang. “Because I wasn’t… for a while, it was just Ruby and the remainder of JNPR. They all ran towards the battle, ran to find someone who could help them fight back against the Grimm and Salem. And all I did was mope.”

“Because I was gone,” said Blake, staring down at her feet.

“Hey, no, that wasn’t the main reason,” said Yang, her hand moving to Blake’s hair. Absently, she stroked her fingers over Yang’s cat ears, either not noticing the difference between fur and hair or… just not caring. Blake didn’t mention it, though.

“Weiss doesn’t seem to think so,” said Blake, leaning her head into Yang’s hand. Yang cursed softly.

“Dammit, Weiss,” Yang muttered. “I unloaded onto her about all of this. Because we’d just all reunited, and I thought that it’d make me feel better, but I just… I really missed you.” Blake could hear the emotion in Yang’s voice, and guilt made its familiar presence known.

“I’m sorry,” said Blake, her cat ears disappearing into her hair from the guilt.

“But you didn’t know,” said Yang. “I didn’t exactly make my feelings very obvious.”

“You saved a dance for me,” said Blake. “I read romance novels for fun, Yang, I know what romance looks like. Even if I was kind of oblivious.”

“Kind of?” said Yang, grinning. “Weiss literally had to spell it out for you.”

“Alright, so I was stupid,” said Blake, rolling her eyes and folding her arms over her chest. “But at least I know now.”

“Not stupid, just oblivious,” said Yang, kissing her cheek. “But you weren’t the main reason I was moping. In case you’d forgotten, I lost an arm. And I’m still going to use this new arm to beat the tar out of Adam, by the way.” Blake laughed.

“I’ll watch,” said Blake. “Or I’ll join you.”

“Heh, I’ll let you have the final blow,” said Yang.

“Thanks,” said Blake, smiling. Somehow, Yang always managed to bring a smile out of her.

“I should probably stop petting you,” said Yang, pulling her hand away. Blake caught it, her reflexes as lightning-fast as ever.

“I don’t want you to stop,” said Blake, looking Yang in the eyes.

“Really?” asked Yang. “I thought it was rude or something to treat a faunus like an animal.”

“I can’t speak for all of us but I don’t mind if it’s you,” said Blake. “To me, it’s… something intimate. Loving.”

“Oh,” said Yang. “Intimate like…”

“Stop talking right now before you say something completely stupid,” said Blake with a laugh, putting her finger to Yang’s lips.

“Okay, so just intimate and caring,” said Yang. “Like playing with hair.”

“Yes,” said Blake. “Like that.”

“Okay, I get it,” said Yang, nodding. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“Many do, few are allowed to,” said Blake. “You should feel privileged.”

“Believe me, I do,” said Yang with a laugh. 

“So what did you do while you were abandoning your sister?” asked Blake. “What quest did you go on?”

“Something completely selfish,” said Yang, her fingers never leaving Blake’s cat ears. “I went looking for my mom.”

“That’s not selfish,” said Blake. “Wanting to find family isn’t selfish at all, not when she’s been missing your whole life.”

“Thanks for saying so,” said Yang. “And I know it turned out well in the end, but… there were times when I just felt so selfish. Like my mom. I guess I know where I got it from.”

“But you came back,” said Blake, her eyes shining with feeling. “Like I came back, remember? You said that I came back, and that’s what matters. You came back, and that’s what matters. None of us intended to stay away, not forever. We’re team RWBY, and we stick together, no matter what. As long as we all draw breath, the team stays alive. Even if we’re all a little damaged now.”

“I was there for that speech too, you know,” said Yang, smirking. “But I know what you mean. And I feel better now, even if… even if it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I always thought that when I found my mom, I’d get some answers. She abandoned me to go and do something noble, or save the world, or because her being there was too dangerous. And it turns out that all of those were valid reasons, but not the real one. She left because she was a selfish cowward. If she really loved me, she would’ve stayed. She would’ve explained. She wouldn’t have run away.” There were tears in her eyes now.

“Was she the Spring Maiden when she left?” asked Blake.

“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me,” said Yang. “All I gathered was that she killed the last Spring Maiden. Probably because she thought that she could handle it. And then I probably came along and ruined everything. At least I found out how she was always able to leave so quickly. She can turn into a bird.”

“Really?” asked Blake, surprised. “So you’re the daughter of a bird in love with a cat.”

“You said it,” said Yang. “And I appreciate you trying to distract me.”

“If you get too upset, you’ll stop petting me,” said Blake. Yang snorted laughter.

“Anyway, at least I managed to see her and talk to her,” said Yang. “And I freed Weiss, who her followers had captured.”

“That was rude of them,” said Blake.

“Weiss said the same thing,” said Yang with a laugh. She sobered, though. “I tried to convince her to fight for us, but she refused. I was surprised when she turned up at the battle. And scared. I didn’t know what she was going to do. Turns out, she just came to beat the crap out of Cinder. Which ended up helping us. We only had to fight Salem’s cronies, not the Fall Maiden.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t take the Relic,” said Blake. “With all I’d heard about her, I thought she would have.”

“That was probably because of me,” said Yang. “I called her out on being a coward, and she ran away. If I wasn’t so upset, I would’ve laughed at the irony.”

“At least it turned out well, in the end,” said Blake. “We got the Relic, and Cinder is out of the picture, at least for a while.”

“You don’t think she’s dead?” asked Yang. “I didn’t see the fight, but mom didn’t say anything about it either.”

“If she was dead, I’m sure Raven would’ve boasted about it,” said Blake.

“Not that I gave her a chance to,” said Yang. “But I didn’t see a body, so… you’re probably right. We should still be on our guard.”

“Someday, we’ll be able to relax,” said Blake.

“Why not today?” said Yang. “They’re all recovering from the battle, especially after losing the Fall Maiden. The sun is nice, and you’ve got your army now.” Blake laughed, sliding along the bench to rest her head on Yang’s knees.

“You’re right,” said Blake, closing her eyes in bliss as Yang continued stroking her cat ears. “Rest for now. We’ve got a big battle coming.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” said Yang. They sat there for a few moments in silence, enjoying the sun and the fountain and the birdsong. If the birds were out, it must be okay. Surely. Yang closed her eyes, enjoying the softness of Blake’s cat ears. “Are you purring? Can you purr?”

“No and no,” said Blake without opening her eyes.

“That’s surprising,” said Yang. “Considering you’re a cat.”

“Just shut up and pet me.” And Yang did, stroking her fingers through Blake’s hair when she wasn’t fondling her cat ears. In this rooftop garden, it almost felt like the rest of the world didn’t exist. Like Salem didn’t exist. Like the Grimm didn’t exist. It was just the two of them, and the birds, and the garden. Someday, Yang vowed, it would feel like this and it wouldn’t be a lie.


End file.
